It looks easy.

Most of my days are spent watching and entertaining Ben as he runs around our small house exploring every nook and cranny. Whether it's reading him books for an hour, dancing with him to a vinyl record of Big Bird, wrestling or going on long walks, I am generally exhausted by the time Traci arrives home. A few weeks ago Ben fell asleep at around 7pm yet at around 10pm he woke up with an urge to get the party started. After various attempts to put him back to sleep it was decided that I would take him for a long walk so we rigged the stroller with flashlights and walked down College Avenue to the deserted university campus to show him where I spent many sleepless nights. It's interesting how as soon as I step off the sidewalk and into the campus, the memories immediately begin flashing. The two of us wandered around the campus, Ben quietly sat in his stroller with a flashlight in his hands as I went off telling him one story after another from my days in College. Somewhere between telling him my stories from art classes and falling in the mud during the boxer run I was reminded of a song by Paolo Nutini "Where did the days go? When all we did was play and the stress that we were under wasn't stress at all."

I began taking piano lessons at the age of six and immediately excelled at an early age. I took lessons until my family moved to Seattle where I was not able to find a piano teacher who would teach me something besides sonatina's. Although I didn't have a teacher, I still took the opportunity to play a song or practice whenever I came across a piano. It wasn't long before I realized that I could effortlessly play many songs on the radio. It just came naturally and I could make it look easy. It's interesting how each of us have our own areas that we excel in, whether it's being friendly, humorous, lazy, annoying or procrastinating. Each of us has something that we are great at. I will admit that I do not have dinner ready for Traci each day when she comes home from work nor do I wash the dishes each day. I much rather spend my time playing with Ben than doing the laundry. I don't claim to be the top option for a stay-at-home-parent but I try my best and maybe that's why my parents emphasized trying my best in everything. Could it be that trying your best in everything is congruent to being successful in life?

I don't know the answer. But I do know that parenting is much greater fun with Traci by my side.